NASA Selects Four University Teams For Advanced Aviation Research Projects
NASA has selected four university teams to conduct research into areas including supersonic propulsion, AI-enabled avionics, urban air mobility and advanced aircraft design.
The awards, made through NASA’s University Leadership Initiative, provide around $30 million in multiyear funding across the four projects. The programme brings together undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, other universities, community colleges and industry partners to work on aviation research aligned with NASA’s aeronautics priorities.
The University of Minnesota will receive funding for a four-year project focused on a fuel-flexible propulsion system for high-speed aircraft. The proposed engine would use a conventional turbofan for takeoff and subsonic flight before switching to a ramjet for supersonic operation. The team aims for the system to support speeds of Mach 4, or more than 3,000 mph.
Stanford University will lead two of the projects. One will examine how machine learning can be incorporated into aircraft avionics while maintaining safety throughout the system’s lifecycle. The research is intended to help establish methods for integrating AI-enabled avionics into the national airspace.
The second Stanford project will focus on reducing noise from future urban air mobility operations. Researchers will develop high-fidelity simulations that model how sound travels through cities, with the aim of identifying flight paths that reduce noise exposure for communities.
Virginia Tech’s three-year project will examine how new aircraft can be designed and certified while accounting for uncertainty. Researchers plan to combine model-based systems engineering with advanced modelling, optimisation and uncertainty analysis tools to reduce the need for costly redesigns during development.
The awards represent the ninth round of NASA’s University Leadership Initiative funding. The programme is intended not only to advance aviation research but also to develop the next generation of the US aerospace workforce. NASA said researchers will receive support from agency experts, the Federal Aviation Administration and other organisations as the projects progress.
